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John of Worcester
John of Worcester (died circa 1140) was an English monk and chronicler. He is usually held to be the author of the Chronicon ex chronicis. ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' The Chronicon ex chronicis is a world history which begins with the creation and ends in 1140. The chronological framework of the Chronicon was provided by the chronicle of Marianus Scotus (d. 1082). A great deal of additional material, particularly relating to English history, was grafted onto it. Authorship The greater part of the work, up to 1117 or 1118, was formerly attributed to the monk Florence of Worcester on the basis of the entry for his death under the annal of 1118, which credits his skill and industry for making the chronicle such a prominent work.... huius subtili scienta et studiosi laboris industria, preeminet cunctis haec chronicarum chronica. In this view, the other Worcester monk, John, merely wrote the final part of the work. However, there are two main objections against the ascription to Florence. First, there is no change of style in the Chronicon after Florence's death, and second, certain sections before 1118 rely to some extent on the Historia novorum of Eadmer of Canterbury, which was completed sometime in 1121 x 1124.Gransden, Historical Writing, p. 144. The prevalent view today is that John of Worcester was the principal author and compiler. He is explicitly named as the author of two entries for 1128 and 1138, and two manuscripts (CCC MS 157 and the chronicula) were written in his hand. He was seen working on it at the behest of Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester, when the Anglo-Norman chronicler Orderic Vitalis visited Worcester: : Manuscripts The Chronicon survives in five manuscripts (and a fragment on a single leaf): *MS 157 (Oxford, Corpus Christi College). The principal manuscript, working copy used by John. *MS 502 (Dublin, Trinity College). *MS 42 (Lambeth Palace Library). *MS Bodley 297 (Oxford, Bodleian Library). *MS 92 (Cambridge, Corpus Christi College). In addition, there is the chronicula, a minor chronicle based on the Chronicon proper: MS 503 (Dublin, Trinity College), written by John up to 1123. Sources for English history For the body of material dealing with early English history, John is believed to have used a number of sources, some of which now lost: *unknown version(s) of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, possibly in Latin translation. John may have shared a lost source with William of Malmesbury, whose Gesta regum anglorum includes similar material not found in other works. *Bede, Historia Ecclesiastica (up to 731) *Asser, Vita Ælfredi *Hagiographical works on tenth/eleventh-century saints **''Lives'' of St Dunstan by author 'B', Adelard and Osbern **Byrhtferth, Life of St. Oswald **Osbern of Canterbury, Life of St Ælfheah *Eadmer of Canterbury, Historia novorum (1066-1122) *accounts by contemporaries and local knowledge. References Chronicon ex chronicis: editions and translations *Darlington, Reginald R. and P. McGurk (eds.), P. McGurk and Jennifer Bray (trs.). The Chronicle of John of Worcester: The Annals from 450-1066. Vol 2. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford: 1995. *McGurk, P. (ed. and tr.). The Chronicle of John of Worcester: The Annals from 1067 to 1140 with The Gloucester Interpolations and The Continuation to 1141. Vol 3. OMT. Oxford, 1998. *Thorpe, Benjamin (ed.). Florentii Wigorniensis monachi chronicon ex chronicis. 2 vols. London, 1848-9. *Stevenson, J. (tr.). Church Historians of England. 8 vols: vol. 2.1. London, 1855. 171-372. *Forester, Thomas (tr.). The Chronicle of Florence of Worcester. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1854. Available from Google Books. Further reading *Brett, Martin. "John of Worcester and his contemporaries." In The Writing of History in the Middle Ages: Essays Presented to R.W. Southern, ed. by R.H.C. Davis and J.M. Wallace Hadrill. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. 101-26. *Brett, Martin, "John, monk of Worcester." In The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Anglo-Saxon England, ed. Michael Lapidge, et al. Oxford: Blackwell, 1999. ISBN 0-631-22492-0 *Gransden, Antonia. Historical writing in England c. 550 to 1307. Vol 1. London, 1974. 143–8. *Orderic Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica, ed. and tr. Marjorie Chibnall, The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis. 6 volumes. Oxford Medieval Texts. Oxford, 1968-1980. ISBN 0-19-820220-2. Category:12th-century deaths Category:12th-century historians Category:English chroniclers Category:English monks Category:People from Worcester de:John of Worcester eo:Johano de Worcester fr:Florence de Worcester no:John av Worcester ru:Иоанн Вустерский